EASTERN CAPE - President Jacob Zuma's hopes for re-election were dealt a blow on Sunday after his group in the African National Congress (ANC)’s second biggest region, OR Tambo in the Eastern Cape lost support.

Delegates at the OR Tambo Regional Conference in the Eastern Cape re-elected Thandekile Sabisa as chairperson, defeating William Ngozi.

The conference had been adjourned in July after claims that more people had voted than had been accredited.

Sabisa is said to be pushing for a change in the national leadership as the ANC approaches its elective conference in Mangaung in the Free State in December.

ANC provincial spokesperson Mlibo Qoboshiyane said it was a closely contested race.

“Sabisa received 294 votes and the other candidate William Ngozi received 284 votes. The deputy chairperson received 299 votes and the other candidate received 283.”

OR Tambo is the ruling party’s second largest region, with eThekwini in KwaZulu-Natal being the biggest.

The Eastern Cape region constitutes about 70 percent of the province’s delegates who will participate in the national conference in Mangaung at the end of the year.